Wire handling apparatus



Nov. 20, 1951 P. A. BEAMAN ETAL 2,575,785

WIRE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1946 ZSIEETS-SIEET 1 x0 /4 2o 2322 /9 Z3 0 20 Nov. 20, 1951 P. A. BEAMAN mm. 2,575,785

WIRE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept 18, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fig. 4

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WIRE HANDLING: APPARATUS Phineas A. Benson and John 3. North, Worcester,

Mesa, asslgnon to Morgan Construction Compony, Worcester,

chuectts Mam, a corporation Massa- Application September 18, ms, SerialN0. mass Claims. (Cl. 242-80) This invention relates to wire handlingapparatus, and more particularly toapparatus for handling bundles ofdrawn wire which is to be subjected to further drawing or otherprocessing operations.

In the manufacture of steel wire in comparatively small sizes it is acommon practice to produce an intermediate size of wire from rolledsteel rod on a continuous multiple-block wiredrawing machine. Bundles ofwire are removed from the finishing block oi the machine and transferredto a second continuous multipleblock wire-drawing machine which servesto reduce the wire to the desired final size. Heretoi'ore a stripper hasbeen used to remove the wire bundles from the finishing block, and aseparate device has been provided tor supporting the bundles and payingoil wire therefrom to the sec ond wire-drawing machine. It hasaccordingly been necessary to transfer the wire bundles irom thestripper to the bundle supporting device. and this operation has notonly involved considerable labor but it has also frequently resulted indisarranged bundles from which the wire will not pay of! properly.

It is accordingly one object of the invention to provide an improvedapparatus for handling bundles of wire which is to be subjected tofurther operations, the apparatus being constructed and arranged toreduce the labor required and to avoid disarrangement of the bundles.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel device whichwill serve not only as a wire bundle stripper but also as a supporttorbundles as the wire is payed ofl therefrom.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved wirepay-oil! apparatus arranged to support a plurality of wire bundles fromwhich the wire may be payed of! successively to permit welding of thewire and drawing thereof in a continuous strand.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the in, vention resides in the combination of partsset iorth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the inventionand in which like reference numerals indicate like parts.

Fig. i is a sectional elevation taken on the line itii 2 4-4 of Fig. 2and showing a wire handling apparatus for paying oil wire to awire-drawing machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view oi the apparatus shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line L4 of P18. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line H of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-! 0K Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing a portion or the apparatus in position onthe finishing block of a tyne-drawing machine.

The invention provides a combined stripper and pay ofl' device i0comprising iour upright legs ii connected at their upper ends to acentral hub in by means of radial spokes II. The legs ii are alsoconnected at points intermediate their lengths to "a central verticalsleeve 15 by means of a horizontal web I6 which is cruciiorm in planview, as shown in Fig. 2. At the lower end of each leg II there isprovided an outwardly projecting toot it. A separate hub it is attachedto the top of the hub H by means of a vertical screw eye 20. Radialspokes 2! extend outwardly from the hub It to Support a horizontal ring23 concentric with the hub and located outwardly beyond the legs II.

in Fig. 6 there is shown a portion of a wiredrawing machine 25 having afinishing block at! which draws wire through a die 21. This block 26 isrotated about a vertical axis and in accordance with known practice itis provided with four circumferentially spaced vertical stripper slotsor grooves 28. These slots 29 are arranged to receive the feet II andthe lower por' tions of the legs H of the device It. The block 28 alsoincludes a vertical axially positioned pin 30 arranged to extend throughthe sleeve "1 and support the same laterally.

It will be apparent that with the device II in position on the block 28,a bundle 3| of wire may be formed on the block and around the uprightlegs ll. When this bundle has reached a suflicient size the machine willbe stopped and the wire severed, whereupon a crane or hoist will beattached to the screw eye 20 and the device It will be lifted to stripthe bundle from the block. Another device It may then be placed in. the

block and another bundle started. In the meantime theiirst device IIwith the bundle thereon will be transferred to the apparatus shownparticularly in Figs. 1 and 2.

This apparatus includes a horizontal circular plate or table 33 having acentral upwardly extending hub 34 which is rotatably supported on afixed vertical spindle 35. This spindle is mounted on a suitablefoundation 31. Three equally spaced upright radial plates 33 connect thehub 34 with the table 33 and divide the space above the table into threecompartments 39. Within each of these compartments there is provided anupright pin 4| with its lower end fixed to the table 33, each pin beingarranged to enter the sleeve I! of one of the devices It to support thesame laterally. Four openings or pockets 42 are provided in the table33, around each of the pins ll, in position to receive the feet i3 ofthe device It. A U-shaped strap 43 extends across the bottom of eachpocket. An L-shaped releasable latch 45 (Fig. is pivotally mounted on a.bracket 48 adjacent each of the pins ll in position to engage the web itand hold the device II in place. A spring 41 urges the latch intoengagement. Two clicker bars 43 (Fig. 4) are pivotally attached at theirlower ends to the table 33 on opposite sides of each pin ll, these barsbeing arranged to rest laterally against the upper portions of thebundles 3i and aid in ensuring the orderly uncoiling thereof. The twobars 48 are equally spaced from the axis of the table in a symmetricaland compact arrangement. I

The table 33 is located near a wire-drawing machine ll having a firstblock 52 which draws .fwire through a die 53. Between this machine IIand the table 33 there is provided an upright frame or column 55 havingon its upper end a -wi.re guide 03.- A sheave 35 and an associated wireguide 88 are mounted on the other end of the beam 53. A sheave 6B and anassociated wire guide 39 are mounted on a bracket 13 carried by thecolumn 55, beneath the sheave 65. All four of the sheaves are located ina common vertical plane, and they are all rotatable about horizontalaxes.

The operation of the invention will now be apparent from the abovedisclosure. Several of the devices III will be provided, and they willbe placed successively on the finishing block 23 (Fig. 6) of the machine25 to receive bundles of wire. As each bundle is completed, a suitablecrane will be attached to the eye 20 and the loaded device M will belifted from the block and transferred to one of the pins 41 of the table33, where the upper end of the wire will be welded to the lower end ofthe wire in the preceding bundle. One of the loaded devices I. willalways be located in the pay-off position beneath I the sheave 53, andthe wire will travel upwardly from the upper end of the bundle aroundthe outside of the ring 23, which will guide the wire in a circular pathabout the legs ll. After passing the ring 23, the wire will travelaround the sheaves 58, 62, 65 and 63 in succession and thence 7 throughthe die 63 to the block I2. As each convolution of wire is withdrawnfrom the bundle. the clicker bars 40 will lift slightly to allow thewire to pass from beneath them. This promotes orderly withdrawal of thewire and avoids kinks and snarls. The weighted carriage Ii will normallyrest in its lowermost position, but will move upwardly in case a snarlforms and increases the wire tension, whereupon the machine Ii will bestopped either by the operator or automatically in known manner. Uponexhaustion of one bundle the operator will turn the table 33 one-thirdof a revolution to bring the next bundle into the pay-oil position, sothat the wire-drawing may proceed in a continuous manner. The latches 45will hold the devices ll firmly in place during the withdrawal of thewire, and yet they may be readily released manually to allow removal ofempty devices. The pockets I! serve to receive the feet It and toprevent the wire from becoming caught bene'ath these feet as thelowermost convolutions of the bundle are withdrawn.

Since each bundle 31 is supported on its corresponding device I 0 notonly during the formation of the bundle but also during its transfer tothe table 33 and during its pay-oi! to the machine ii, the cost ofhandling the wire is greatly reduced and the possibility of entanglingthe convolutions of the bundles is minimized. Obviously, thewire-drawing machine II can be replaced by any machine for forming orotherwise operating upon the wire, without affecting the operation ofthe pay-off apparatus or requiring any modification in the structurethereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. Wire handling apparatus comprising a device including a plurality ofupright legs connected to one another and having outwardly projectingfeet on their lower ends. the device being adapted to be mounted on thefinishing block of a wire-drawing machine to receive a bundle of wireand to strip the bundle upwardly from the block, means at the upper endof the device to guide wire in a circular path about the legs as thewire is withdrawn upwardly from the upper portion of the bundle, ahorizontal substantially circular plate mounted for rotation about avertical axis and constructed to support the device at any one of aplurality of stations spaced about the axis of the plate, whereby theloaded device may be placed upon the plate at one of said stations andsubsequently moved to a predetermined pay-off position by turning theplate, and wire withdrawing means at one side of the plate and includingwire guide means projecting over the loaded device when the latter is inthe pay-off position to guide thewire traveling upwardly from thedevice.

2. Wire handling apparatus. as set forth in claim 1, in which the plateis provided on its upper surface with a central upwardly extending huband with upright substantially radial plates located between thestations and connecting the plate to the hub.

3. Wire handling apparatus as set forth in claim '1, in which the plateis provided at each station with a clicker bar pivotally secured at itslower end to the plate and arranged to rest laterally against the bundleto prevent sn'ar'ing of the wire.

4. Wire handling apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the plateis provided at each station with two clicker bars pivotally secured attheir lower ends to the plate and arranged to rest laterally againstdiametrically opposite sides of the bundle to prevent snarling 01' thewire, the said two clicker bars being equally spaced from the axis ofthe table in a symmetrical arrangement.

5. Wire handling apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which an uprightpin is fixed to the plate at each station, and the device includes acentral sleeve arranged to fit over the correspending pin.

PHINEAS A. BEAMAN. JOHN R. NORTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Morgan et al. Feb. 24, 1880Bindeman Feb. 7, 1888 Cowles Feb. 21, 1899 Bourne June 11, 1907 SummerMar, 15, 1910 Westphal Feb. 23, 1937 Beach Aug. 9, 1938 Symmes Oct. 17,1944

